March 13, 2010

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The game may have started three hours later than originally scheduled in a different place against a different team, but the Miami University baseball team was unfazed, downing Indiana, 19-7, Saturday afternoon at Gainesville High School, to finish their spring break trip a perfect 4-0. The contest against the Hoosiers (4-8) was added to Miami's slate to help make up for the final three games of the RussMatt Invitational that were cancelled due to heavy rains, including Saturday's 10 a.m. match-up against North Dakota State that was slated for Winter Haven, Fla.

Miami (6-7) and Indiana were set to play in Ocala, Fla. at noon but after the field was deemed too small upon arrival, the coaches hit the phone lines and were able to secure Gainesville High School's baseball field about 50 minutes north of Ocala, where the teams traveled and played about two hours later. The RedHawks were not rattled by the hectic travel plans however, picking up their fourth straight win and third straight victory in the series with the Hoosiers by registering a pair of seven-run innings.

The 'Hawks out-hit Indiana, 19-10, in a game that featured 10 home runs combined, partly due to the short outfield fences at the high school park and the windy conditions. Junior catcher Adam Weisenburger (Plymouth, Minn.) went 4-for-5, tying a career high for hits, while coming a triple shy of the cycle with three RBI and a career-best four runs scored. Junior first baseman Kyle Weldon (Mason, Ohio) tallied a career-high five RBI while junior right fielder Adam Eaton (Springfield, Ohio) and freshman third baseman Cory Klenke (Coldwater, Ohio) each notched a trio of hits. IU left fielder Alex Dickerson had three RBI and a pair of four-baggers to lead the Hoosiers.

Miami took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, as Weisenburger led off with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and crossed home on an RBI groundout by Weldon. Eaton then put the 'Hawks up 3-0 in the third with a two-out, two-run blast to right field, his team-leading fourth homer of the year.

Miami blew the game open in the fourth frame, plating seven runs on five hits to make it 10-0, as Klenke notched a two-RBI single while junior second baseman Brad Gschwind (Cincinnati, Ohio), who finished with a career-high four RBI, added a three-run bomb, his first-career home run, and Weisenburger tacked on a two-run round-tripper over the shallow wall in right-center field. Six of the seven runs were unearned however, as the Hoosiers made a pair of errors early in the inning.

Indiana chipped away at Miami's lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, also taking advantage of the short fence in right, as Dickerson hit a solo shot and catcher Josh Lyon smacked a two-run ball over the fence to make it 10-3. The RedHawks went to work again in the top of the fifth, scoring seven more runs, capped by a three-run blast from sophomore designated hitter Jordan Jankowski (McMurray, Pa.) for a 17-3 cushion.

The Hoosiers clubbed three more longballs in the bottom of the fifth, resulting in four runs, closing the gap to 10, but after a scoreless sixth, Weldon clubbed a two-run longball in the top of the seventh to make the score 19-7, while senior reliever Kyle Donawerth (Cincinnati, Ohio) shut down Indiana over the final three innings, securing the 12-run win.

Freshman starter Brooks Fiala (Carmel, Ind.) earned his first collegiate win (1-1), tossing six innings and allowing seven runs with five strikeouts, despite the tough conditions, while Donawerth earned his first career save, allowing just two hits with three punch-outs. Indiana starter Walker Stadler (1-2) took the loss, surrendering 10 runs (four earned) in four innings of work.

Miami will face the Hoosiers again on April 20 in Oxford as originally scheduled.

With their spring break trip in Florida concluded, the RedHawks return home to host Northern Kentucky Wednesday, March 17 in their home opener at 3 p.m. at McKie Field at Hayden Park.

--MURedHawks.com--